Robots decide: Apple or poison?

Swiss researchers recently demonstrated robots that artificially evolve ways to communicate with one another. In their experiments, the robots were set loose in an area containing two types of objects – one classified as “food” and another designated “poison.” The “poison” object was marked with a skull and crossbones, a common designation that has existed since the 19th century. But the “food” object was marked with the logo of Apple Inc.

If you watch the video of the robots in action, you’ll see them flash their lights and eventually swarm the Apple “food,” kind of like attendees at Macworld Expo learning about an impending raffle drawing.

Perhaps this is just the beginning of using the Apple logo to designate “food.” Maybe a century from now mall directories and other maps that use bathroom and telephone symbols will use the Apple logo to show you where the food court is located. Or maybe the robots will have taken us over by then.